Archive for the 'Other Sports' Category



17
Feb
09

Unlicensed 15 Year Old Tearing Up the Race Tracks

Joe Gibbs Racing signed Darrell Wallace Jr. recently to its developmental driver program, which is unremarkable except that Wallace is only 15 years old. The Mobile, Alabama native isn’t legally allowed to have a license for another year, but that hasn’t stopped him from racing, or seeing him get named Rookie of the Year in the United Auto Racing Association. Wallace finished his season 6th overall in the points standings last year and was also the youngest driver to win a race at Franklin County Speedway.

“Anytime you have an opportunity to add someone like Darrell to your program it’s exciting,” said J.D. Gibbs, President of JGR.

No word as yet if Wallace’s parents are forced to drive in the car with him. But it is true that his mother constantly winces and tries desperately to brake whenever she’s in the car with him.

[AL.com]

16
Feb
09

Fake Boobs Could Ruin Boxing

Sarah Blewden is a 25 year old Briton who, after taking up boxing as an activity to keep her fit, discovered that she had a talent for the sweet science. Unfortunately for her, the Amateur Boxing Association of England won’t let her try her hands out in the ring because she has breast implants.

“International rules forbid anyone with breast implants continuing to box because of risk of damage to the breast tissue,” said Tony Attwood, chairman of the ABAE. “The natural breast tissue is pushed forward in front of the implant and it is this that is more at risk.”

Blewden of course, dismisses that as hogwash, also adding that she’d have no issue paying to repair any damage that might be caused to her delightful 32C speedbags. I hope this issue gets settled, although I also hope Blewden doesn’t take any blows to the face, it’d be a shame to see someone so pretty get marred. Besides, I’m sure the fans of boxing wouldn’t mind seeing an athlete whose enhancement isn’t performance enhancing…

[Telegraph]

10
Feb
09

Just a Fun Afternoon Kayaking and Shark Killing

Kayaking can be fun, although I always find myself getting annoyed at the water that seeps in and stays stuck in the bottom of the boat. That confined tight leg space can be a bit uncomfortable too. Some guys from Alaska’s American Ocean Kayak Fishing Team evidently feel differently and decided to up the ante a bit and use their kayaks to go shark hunting.

shark-hunter-kayakSounds reasonable to me, after all, I love chasing killing machines in a fragile fiberglass kayak that is easily tipped over. The team paddled into the middle of a group of salmon sharks–weighing in at about 1000 pounds and 9 feet in length–about 300 of them in total and then started hunting.

“We are all experienced anglers and kayakers so either as a whole or individually, we felt confident in our personal abilities and limits,” said the captain, Chris Mautino.

“The sharks were concentrating on feeding on the Pink Salmon and I really don’t think they gave us a second thought,” said Senor Insano. “We slow trolled the bait behind the kayaks with the rods laying across our laps … Our biggest concerns were staying upright in the kayaks and keeping from getting tangled up in the gear and pulled over as well.”

Yeah, my biggest concern when trying to hunt sharks in a flimsy craft is not getting ate, but then that’s just me… Of course, I’m not silly enough to try and be in that situation in the first place…

shark-hunter-kayak2

[Vagabondish]

10
Feb
09

Down We Go

Hey you’ve got some time to kill, so why not watch this video of a pretty awesome mountain biking descent. No one crashes, so that’s disappointing, but instead there is a really long, really windy, pretty damn dope course for these guys to go down, and I don’t even LIKE mountain biking. This track is in the Alps and must be darn high for such a long descent. All I know is that I don’t like my balls rattling around that much unless I’ve paid someone to do it for me…

Vodpod videos no longer available.

09
Feb
09

Couldn’t You Just Take a Boat?

figgeSwimming is fun, it’s relaxing, it is great exercise and of course, it is a chance to see the world. That is if you’re Jennifer Figge, a 56 year old woman from Aspen, Colorado, who just finished swimming from Cape Verde, Africa to Trinidad in the Caribbean.

Leaving on January 12, Figge braved 30 foot waves, high winds and of course, that simple 2100 mile swim. Originally she had intended to swim to the Bahamas but bad weather forced her to change her course, adding 1000 miles to her trip. You know, no big deal, what’s another 1000 MILES!!!!

Figge is the first woman to complete a solo swim trip across the Atlantic, alongside her was a sailboat that kept pace throughout the journey. Spending at most 8 hours in the water after waking at 7 AM and starting then, she’d have crew members toss her energy drinks as she went along. At night she would eat meat, fish and peanut butter, in an effort to replenish the estimated 8,000 calories she burned a day.

Don’t worry, she’s not done yet, Figge intends to continue on to the British Virgin Islands, where she expects to make land sometime later this month.

“I was never scared,” Figge said. “Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I can always swim in a pool.”

I’m tired just thinking about this.

[Chicago Tribune]

06
Feb
09

Save the Flowers, Save the World

Normally the only thing that stops a lacrosse game from happening is a totally sweet Coldplay concert, but in Pittsburgh, Franklin Park, a veritable hot spot for white dudes with sticks something else is gumming up the works. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources informed the manager of the park that a rare blue buttercup flower may be growing in the area of the field.

There is no evidence the plant is growing anywhere on or near the land, said borough Manager Ambrose Rocca. However, the borough will probably have to hire a botanist to confirm the flower, which is listed as “critically imperiled” in Pennsylvania, is nowhere to be found.

No evidence, no flowers found, but they are going to search for it and delay building the field for at least a year. That’s some fine planning there.

[Post Gazette]

02
Feb
09

How Tough are You?

If running through fire after having swum through freezing cold waters, running a cross-country race and going through a brutally difficult obstacle course in thick mud and the chilly English countryside sounds like a fun time to you, then the 23rd annual Tough Guy Challenge is just right for you.

Held on Sunday at the South Perton Farm in Wolverhampton, England, it featured competitors from 25 countries, and nearly 600 cases of hypothermia, including the eventual champion, James Appleton. There were 21 different obstacles along the way for the harsh race, whose own website says, “The event is uniquely fear ridden and you need to be fit in both body and spirit to survive the ordeal.” Don’t worry, these people aren’t putting themselves through a crazy endurance test for nothing, the challege is for charity with the money going to the Mr. Mouse Farm for Unfortunates, which looks after hundreds of retired horses and provides jobs to young offenders. So there’s that too.

Now, enjoy some photos!

[Daily Mail]

Photos also from [Big Picture]

t14_17824155


26
Jan
09

Well That’s Just Cool

Up in Old Quebec City, Canada, Red Bull, masters of the strange sporting events are holding the 2009 Crashed Ice event. The sport, essentially motocross down a BMX-y luge course wearing hockey gear looks like it is awesome to watch. It’s probably pretty fun to do too I suppose, although it looks like you’re constantly about a millisecond away from falling and having 4 guys ride over your neck with razor sharp skates which seems less fun.

That said, who wants to make up a team for next year? I’m ready to DOMINATE!

26
Jan
09

Flipping Out at the X Games

The Winter X Games are on right now, although I had no idea. I’m actually glad though because it means I haven’t been barraged with endless cross-promotion from ABC/ESPN/Disney, so there’s that. Anyhoo, at the games, during the snowmobile speed and style event, Levi Lavallee made “history” when he did the first ever double backflip on a snowmobile in competition. While he nails the stunt in the air, he lands really hard and isn’t able to hang on, but still, it’s pretty damned impressive, if redneck-y.

After the jump is a video ESPN made hyping up the trick beforehand which is moderately interesting. The part that grabbed me was that he has a fire truck crane available to lift his snowmobile out of a foam pit after each practice jump and that the foam pit has a RETRACTABLE ROOF. That’s NUTS!

Continue reading ‘Flipping Out at the X Games’

26
Jan
09

Canseco Can’t Beat up Bonaduce

6c3e04dd085c4153a15ebda02d133dffSaturday night featured one of the boxing events of the century, although, based on media coverage no one noticed. In a 3-round match in suburban Philadelpha, Jose Canseco fought former Partridge Family member Danny Bonaduce to a draw.

Bonaduce for one, thinks the outcome was a crock. “There’s no reason I should have done this well,” said Bonaduce, his nose bloodied. “Part of me says there’s a decent man right there that didn’t want to kill the little guy. I feel weird that we tied.”

Since we know that simply can’t be the case, let’s just assume that Canseco’s body is a giant marshmallow. “For a guy my size to hit him like that and he didn’t go down, wow,” Canseco said. “If he were my size, he probably would have knocked me out of the ring.” However, the crowd of 1,500 were none too impressed by what was supposed to be the big draw with many filing out before the judges even announced their decision.

The pre-match antics probably featured more excitement than the actual match, with Bonaduce coming out with 3 championship belts, which he bought himself, and Canseco coming out with an electronic cigarette and being introduced hilairously as the “greatest pure athlete to ever play the game of baseball.”

Then unfortunately, the match had to actually start. Fortunately neither boxer was drug-tested so at least they were able to stand up reasonably straight. “It’s a trainwreck,” said fan Butch Tressel. “Everyone likes to see a ridiculous trainwreck from time to time.”

Ultimately, after the 3 1-minute rounds, because apparently both men are giant candy-asses, the bout was over, one judge scored it 2-1 for Canseco while the other two judges ruled it 1-1 each with 1 round a draw. Don’t worry though, both men are attention-whores, and both men need the money so this probably won’t be the last time we’ll see such gladiators battling one another. After the match, promoter Damon Feldman had this to say, with a smile, “We’re going to do the rematch,” he said. “L.A. Soon.”

Stick around after the jump for photos from the event and Canseco doing his best impression of the Juggernaut. Also, when did he get all those crazy tattoos? I had no idea he had a full suit, that’s crazy! Also, to whet your appetite for the rest of the photos, here is Danny Bonaduce, true athlete, warming up just prior to the match.

[NBC Sports]

Canseco Boxes Boxing
Continue reading ‘Canseco Can’t Beat up Bonaduce’

21
Jan
09

Neat!

I don’t have much else to say other than this photo of Roger Federer at the Australian Open is really awesome. So, yeah, enjoy!

00newfederer[SI]

21
Jan
09

And He’s Off… And He’s Off…Hello?

At the Parallel Giant Slalom event at the Snowboard World Championship in Hoengseong, South Korea, Tyler Jewell was prepared to start his run but ran into a small problem, the gate wouldn’t open. When the American snowboarder tried to start his run, the gates failed to open and instead of flying down the slope, he was instead flipped ass over tea kettle and embarrassingly fell onto the snow. Fortunately, Jewell was able to get another chance and this time the gates opened properly, allowing him to finish with a robust 10th place standing.

[Daily Mail]

Also, whaddya guys think of my animated gif skills eh? Pretty fancy!




Follow The Slanch Report

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 20 other subscribers

Sign Our Petition!

The Slanch Report has started an online petition asking the MLB Network to air the Dock Ellis no-hitter he threw on June 12, 1970 against the San Diego Padres. The moment was a seminal piece of baseball history and is certainly worthy of being rerun.

Please join us in this cause and sign the petition below so we can all share in this special and fantastic moment of baseball history. THANKS!
SIGN THE PETITION HERE! AND PLEASE TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND PASS THIS ALONG!

April 2026
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
27282930  

Categories